TRUSTED PARTNER

Vietnam

Passionate about their products, the entrepreneurs Hiep and Ha storm the Vietnamese social business market.
Director, camera, editor | 5'40

Still thee

Poverty vietnam

Rural areas

Seventy percent of Vietnam’s population of more than 90 million live in rural areas, and half of them make a living from agriculture. Many are small scale farmers who are suffering from unstable prices and low yields from their small plots, and can barely make enough income to survive, let alone to grow their business. Small scale agriculture is led by the older generation, with the young typically moving to towns to seek better paying jobs. In 2010, over 20% of Vietnam’s population was below the poverty line of $2.25 per person per day.

Increasing income for small scale farmers and creating more job opportunities for young people in rural areas are key to combating poverty in Vietnam.

Dragon_staand 1

Business 4 development

Dragon Co.

Dragon Co., which works with small farmers to cultivate the high-value crops of ginger and gac, is among the first group of social enterprises to benefit from Oxfam Novib’s investment and business development support.

Ha: “We know what it’s like to be poor. Which is precisely why we want to help poor people with our business. We stimulate poor farmers to cultivate ginger or gac-fruit. Most now grow maize or manioc, as cattle fodder. That provides them with very little income: they get 1 dollar for 22 kilos of manioc – ginger makes them five times as much. If we take good care of farming families, they take good care of us. Our slogan is: ‘Trust the partner’, have trust in the people you work with.”